All Entries in the "Chamber Networking" Category
Newport County Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Business After Hours at Rosecliff
MIDDLETOWN, RI – The Newport County Chamber of Commerce will host the Women in Business After Hours on Wednesday, October 14th on the Terrace at Rosecliff. Sponsored by the Preservation Society of Newport County, the Women in Business After Hours provide opportunities for women representing all types of industries and professions to mingle, meet and learn from one another.
The Women in Business Initiative was created to enrich and celebrate the talents and skills of women in business—those who manage people, those who are in a high-level individual contributor role or those who own their own business—through networking events focused on professional development and relationship building.
The Women in Business initiative is a partnership between the Chamber and The Preservation Society of Newport County the initiative provides informative networking events, seminars and forums of interest to local women in business. The program was established by the Newport County Chamber to engage and empower women in business and to support women-owned businesses in Newport County and Rhode Island.
Over one hundred women are expected to attend. Delicious hors d’oeuvres and drinks will be provided by Blackstone Catering featuring Newport beer and wines. The event price is $15 for members and $25 for non-members, RSVP’s can be made at NewportChamber.com and reservations will be held at the door.
The Newport County Chamber of Commerce is the second largest chamber in the state with about 1100 members representing over 50,000 employees and is one of Rhode Island’s largest business advocacy organizations, formed to enhance the business, civic and economic vitality of Newport County and greater Rhode Island. We help business succeed.
Executive Director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce Hits the Road to Meet Local Business Owners
MIDDLETOWN, RI – Erin Donovan-Boyle, Executive Director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce has begun her “E.D. Hits the Road” initiative, meeting with local business owners in each municipality in Newport County. Erin will be meeting with Chamber business owners to introduce herself, learn more about their business, and let owners express their thoughts on the business climate. She will also inform members on how the Chamber’s economic initiative, our free marketing tools, educational opportunities and networking events can help their business succeed.
Donovan-Boyle began this campaign in Portsmouth visiting Stalise, Deborah Winthrop Lingerie, Kimberly for Consistently Excellent Eyebrows, Atria, Fatigati’s Fresh Pasta, and Weatherly Tile and Stone. She will continue visiting Chamber businesses in Portsmouth throughout the month of September and then will continue on to Tiverton, Little Compton, Middletown, Newport, and Jamestown.
The campaign will take place each Tuesday afternoon through the fall. If you are a Chamber business owner who would like to have Erin Donovan-Boyle come by your business please call the Chamber staff at 401-847-1608 to schedule a Tuesday for her to visit. We look forward to our continued work within Newport County and for the Executive Director to have the opportunity to engage face to face with the business community. Please follow our journey along through our Facebook page for photos and updates.
The Newport County Chamber of Commerce is the second largest chamber in the state with about 1100 members representing over 50,000 employees and is one of Rhode Island’s largest business advocacy organizations, formed to enhance the business, civic and economic vitality of Newport County and greater Rhode Island. We help business succeed.
Raimondo and the Commerce Corporation Launch New Initiative to make it Easier to Do Business in Rhode Island
Providence, R.I. – Governor Gina M. Raimondo and Secretary of Commerce Stefan Pryor, in partnership with the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, state agencies, and Rhode Island Chambers of Commerce, today announced the launch of the Commerce Corporation’s new Business Navigation Center. The Center will serve as a starting point for all businesses conducting, or looking to conduct, business in Rhode Island, and is one piece of a larger initiative to make Rhode Island more business friendly.
“Every week, my schedule includes time to reach out to companies to listen, to ask them to take a second look at our state,” said Governor Gina M. Raimondo. “One of the biggest struggles I hear is finding a way to navigate the red tape. With my jobs plan, we have taken huge strides to change to make it easier to do business in Rhode Island, and we’re taking another important step forward today with the launch of the Business Navigation Center. This Center will serve as a one-stop shop for existing business looking to grow and new businesses looking to move to here, making government an effective partner in promoting innovation and creating jobs.”
The Commerce Corporation also announced the launch of its new website, which specifically caters to the needs to companies in the state and features a custom navigation tool to assist businesses and connect them to the proper resources. The corporation is coordinating with the Rhode Island chambers of commerce to maintain an advisory council that meets regularly and provides invaluable feedback on what is and isn’t working for businesses in the state.
“Focusing on business retention and expansion is critical to strengthening Rhode Island’s economy. Through creation of our Business Navigation Center, we are providing a one-stop-shop to businesses — an accessible and responsive concierge service that can get the job done for Rhode Island companies large and small,” said Stefan Pryor, Rhode Island Secretary of Commerce.
Today’s event was held at the new Artic Tool & Engineering Company facility in Greenville, RI. As the first company to receive services through the new Business Navigation Center, they were able to find a new location and obtain a loan to purchase it.
“The team at the Commerce Corporation makes it easier to do business in Rhode Island,” said CEO of Artic Tools & Engineering Company Michael Gamache. “We needed more space to grow our operations here in Rhode Island, and they helped us find a new facility to do that. They also walked us through the process of obtaining financing to acquire and renovate the building to suit our need. Now we are in a position to increase sales and our workforce.”
“Whenever we can combine the efforts of those entities that want to help businesses grow the ultimate winners are the employers and employees. Running a business is hard long work. This effort will give business anther partner to assist in growth and retention, said John Gregory, President of the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce.”
The center, located at the Commerce Corporation in Providence, currently has five, highly-qualified advisors on staff; they can be considered the concierge office to the resort that is Rhode Island, ready to help any start-up or existing business. To add a personal touch, each client is assigned one advisor, which will enable the advisors to become intimately knowledge about the needs of their clients. Based on the information received, the advisor, personally, will guide the client through the solution to address each business need. Potential clients can connect with the Business Navigation Center online through the Commerce Corporation’s website.
Businesses can use the center for:
- Business planning and general counseling through center resource partners
- Pre-qualifying and, ultimately, qualifying for a business loan
- Applying for and, ultimately, receiving specialty certifications for government contracts
- Locating a business site
- Entering the international market
- Using university business engagement centers for specific business-related projects
- Working with the Department of Labor and Training on workforce development, layoff aversion options and new hire skills assessment
- Minimizing energy costs via the Renewable Energy Fund
- Determining which state incentives apply
The advisory council – comprised of the Providence, Northern Rhode Island, Central Rhode Island and Newport Chambers of Commerce, joined by Mark Hayward of the Small Business Administration regional office – provide a level of local and regional oversight to business needs and offer improvement suggestions on how the center can better meet the needs of clients.
Through the center, the Commerce Corporation will offer a unique service to address the complexities of starting a business and to showcase the toolkit of programs available to existing businesses in Rhode Island.
Rhode Island, through the Business Navigation Center, is open for business.
Any businesses interested in learning more should contact Rhode Island Commerce Corporation Vice President of Client Services Elizabeth Tanner at elizabeth.tanner@commerceri.com or (401) 278-9195.
About Rhode Island Commerce Corporation
The Rhode Island Commerce Corporation is the full-service, official economic development organization for the state of Rhode Island. A quasi-public agency, the corporation serves as a government and community resource to help streamline the business expansion in, and relocation to, Rhode Island. The agency assists companies with commercial real estate, business financing, workforce training and other relevant issues.
www.commerceri.com
Writing For Web: A Lunch & Learn Event At The 1149 Restaurant
EAST GREENWICH, RI – Bouncing can be fun, but if your website is getting a lot of bounced traffic, it could be your content. (It could also be your graphics, or a combination of both).
Writing for web is different from other writing in that it has to be able to grab the reader’s attention immediately. You don’t have the luxury of long-drawn out explanations of you, your product, or your service.
The East Greenwich Chamber’s August 13th Lunch & Learn features Rich Austin, President of Speaking of Success, LLC, a local business providing speech and presentation coaching and public speaking classes. They also offer effective writing services, including web content, blogging, articles, social media content, video scripts and presentation creation.
This event is being held at the 1149 Restaurant in East Greenwich at noon on August 13th. The event is free for chamber members and $5.00 for non-members. Lunch is included.
To register, contact the chamber at 885.0020 or visit www.eastgreenwichchamber.com
